Our stories

Peace of mind

Moving into a care home made easy

Our care team are here to make sure that making the move is as easy as possible for you and your loved one. If you still need reassurance, here are some stories from our residents, their families and our care team.

To celebrate the D Day anniversary on Sunday 6th June, the flags and bunting were out. Marianne entertained everyone with a tribute to the 1940s by singing songs such as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and White Cliffs of Dover. The residents really enjoyed singing along.

D Day Anniversary

The residents joined the celebrations of Volunteers Week, writing letters and thank you cards to the volunteers that collaborate with us. We wanted to say thank you to them for the amazing work that they do.

Volunteers Week

Bowerfield House celebrated Carers Week by giving our fantastic team of carers a certificate and a homemade keyring made by myself with a heart mental heath jigsaw logo and a Alzheimer's logo.

We had a visit from Jim, our favourite ice cream man. Residents and staff enjoyed their ice creams which they had after eating fish and chips in paper trays to celebrate National Fish and Chip Day.

Ice Creams at Amber Court

We have had a large delivery of cakes supplied from the friends of Troutbeck which was a lovely surprise. The residents will really enjoy these this afternoon with their cups of tea.

Thank you for the lovely treats from all at Troutbeck Care Home.

Care Home Open Week is just around the corner and we want to embrace this fantastic opportunity to shine a spotlight on what we do across our care homes.

Care Home Open Week – celebrating what we do!

Dear Rachael,

A Thank You to Clarendon Court

Everyone loves this beautiful weather we're having at the minute and we love spending time in the garden, the only problem is the weeds grow so quickly.

Acorn House's Garden

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow"

The first bit of sunshine and Faye is back out, this time she has been busy watering the flowerbeds.

Watering the Flowerbeds

Ball games are a way to have fun whilst improving balance and coordination. Here is our Jenny having fun in the lovely sun.

Ann had a lovely pamper this afternoon listening to Mozart whilst enjoying a relaxing hand massage.

Our lovely resident Joan celebrated her 100th birthday with us at Dussindale Park. She was pleased to receive a card from the Queen to open in front of her family! Many happy returns from us all.

Joan's 100th Birthday

The residents enjoyed soaking up the sun on Wednesday afternoon at Dussindale Park. We planted tomato plants and sprinkled sweet pea seeds in our garden. We can't wait for the wonderful display and delightful smell.

Planting In The Sun

Residents at Dussindale Park tuned in to their artistic flair with a craft session, painting ceramics. The final results are stunning and displayed with pride in the residents rooms.

Staff and residents enjoyed a BBQ in the sun this week at Dussindale Park. Our chef prepared delicious burgers and hot dogs, all washed down with a tipple.

BBQ at Dussindale

We decided we would have a Chinese themed day. Our wonderful chef came up with a very tasty menu for our residents, which they all really enjoyed. We then made Chinese lanterns to decorate the dining room tables and the residents seemed to find this very enjoyable.

Chinese Themed Day

We have been donated a lovely sequin sensory board for our residents here at Clumber Court. We would like to say a big thank you to Lifetime Education for donating it, especially a lady called Natalie for thinking of us.

Sequin Sensory Board

For Games Day this week the residents at The Hawthorns played a range of games and together cheered each other on to win prizes. Everybody had a great laugh when the residents thought hard to think of quotes to go with some amusing photos we displayed.

Volunteers week is a time to recognise the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. At Riverview we delivered gifts and a big thank you to the unsung heroes at our local Sue Ryder and Cats Protection League charity shops.

Volunteers Week

Hope Green residents carefully chose some of their favourite crafts from our Garden Project to send to pen pals at the Prep School and we included a few messages too about their creations.

Pen Pals at The Prep School

We had a lovely morning looking at one of our residents family holiday photos. We had the privilege of seeing them using her fathers Aldis projector with glass slides.

We've had some lovely handmade gifts made and delivered by a local Norwich crafter this week. Crochet rugs, fiddle blankets and tactile hand warmers have all been gratefully received by our residents. They make a colourful addition to our lounge.

Today the residents tried their hand at Aromatherapy by making their own essential oils. They chose from Orange, Lemon, Lavender and Camomile and will be patiently waiting 48 hours before straining their oil to use for hand massages.

Roy stuffing the Pinata

Our residents took advantage of the lovely weather and enjoyed some outside activities. Bunny ears always causes a stir and the laughter can be heard all through the home.

Outside Activities

Gail from Abbey View Nursing Home got her lovely long hair chopped and donated it to The Little Princess Trust.

To all the Amber Court Team, You are such an important part of peoples lives at such a special time when smiles, kindness and care mean the world. Thank you for looking after my dad and also me. Delma, Lily and Alice you were stars during everything.

Treat everyone with politeness and kindness, not because they are nice, but because you are.

Acts of Kindness

Bowerfield House and our sister home The Belvedere linked up to do a come dine with me event. Our theme was royalty so we wore cut out face masks and got the Union Jack flags out. We also wrote the Queen a birthday card as its her official birthday next week, Happy Birthday Your Majesty.

Come Dine With Me

Residents helped make colourful Mardi Gras shakers from empty Pringles tubes, cardboard rolls and paper towel tubes. They were decorated with free wallpaper samples, coloured feathers, flowers, butterflies and beads. They were then filled with dried rice.

Mardi Gras Decorations

Faye is making the most of this glorious weather, she loves gardening and has done a great job weeding the flower beds today. She said she was in her element, and as her next job she would like to paint the roof white.

Faye's Gardening

The backdrop was created by activities coordinator Marianne, residents helped to put up the balloons and decorations. The cake was made by one of our carers in the company colours. Marianne decorated it with a Mardi Gras Mask, feathers, flowers, butterflies and baubles.

Amber Court's Preparations

Great performance from our entertainers today, Al and Ian from Music In Mind did themselves proud with their 60s and 70s songs. The residents sang along and enjoyed the afternoon.

Alexandra Court's Entertainment

The residents at Mary Chapman had a treat with a visit from Elvis. He didn't disappoint (especially the ladies!) as he sang and danced his way through an hour of Rock n Roll and of course Elvis songs!

Hope Green have some new arrivals in their garden and they include two lovely yellow ducks! One of our residents families has been delivering new ornaments for our garden and each week there is a new surprise. They have included a panda and a monkey!

This afternoon our residents enjoyed a game of bingo.

Margaret helped to paint and decorate Mardi Gras Masks for the party.

Mardi Gras Masks

We have been enjoying time spent outside today at Troutbeck. The chess set is set up in the beautiful courtyard ready for the next players to see if they can win.

During this week of 7th-13th June, the nation celebrates Carers Week. There are currently around 6.5 million* carers in the UK, looking after their children, parents, siblings, partners, family, friends and even neighbours.

Expressing our gratitude to unpaid carers through the UK

England, Scotland and Wales all saw their warmest days of the year on Wednesday 2nd June.

The sun was out in its full splendour and so were the Knights Court residents! Our residents enjoyed engaging in numerous different outdoor activities this week including lawn bowls.

Our beautiful garden was filled with song and dance as we held an early D-Day celebration along with a special performance from the D-Day Dollies. We had so much fun welcoming back live entertainment to our home!.

The D-Day Dollies mini concert.

Although many public spaces have now started reopening again including museums, we are still unable to visit in large groups, so we decided to celebrate International Museum Day by bringing the museum into Abingdon.

International Museum Day

This Sunday, 6 June will mark the 77th anniversary of the D-Day offensive in Normandy.

Celebrating D-Day 2021

After a fun pub style quiz we enjoyed a crisp and dip tasting session. Everyone had a different favourite with the onion rings proving to be particularly popular.

Crisp and Dip Tasting Session

One of our residents is lucky to have a talented artist as her husband. Her walls are always filled with beautiful reminders of one another and her face always lights up whenever a new one arrives.

Artwork From Husband

What a perfect day to celebrate national milkshake day by making our own in the sunshine.

National Milkshake Day

Clarendon Court is a credit to the excellent management you both provide. All the staff have treated M with the dignity and respect he deserves.

What an amazing event!!

Hope Green were treated to a morning of toe tapping and hand clapping music from a local accordion entertainer and it was a roaring success. Residents and staff couldn't resist getting involved and were even up dancing which was wonderful to be a part of.

Accordion Entertainer